Literary Revelations (it's not as thoughtful as it sounds)
That's another thing I've realized lately: the majority of the reading plans I made before, like, the last two years were made in the sweet innocence of youth, back when I was just getting into blogging and meeting the online story community. If a friend who liked something else that I liked (i.e. a movie) had good things to say about a book, I'd often mark it as to-read without really thinking about whether it was likely to be a good fit for me.
Which is fine, and all. But I've realized lately that I actually, for the most part, have a pretty good handle on what I'm going to like in a book; and just because a friend and I are congenial in other areas ⎼ even in other bookish areas ⎼ that doesn't mean that I'm going to like every book that they like. Even if they really, really, really love it. (This is especially hard for me to grasp when it comes to my closest friends.)
So I'm trying to be more choosy about what I place on my TBR list. Because, for whatever reason, it helps me to feel Self-Actualized and Put-Together. 😄 I've also been "un-hauling" from my physical shelves more often. I've been thinking about minimalism a little more. I don't think I'd ever actually switch to a truly minimalist lifestyle, but I might aim for something more in that ballpark. I don't know. Lots of thoughts. 😛
So I think that I'm going to embrace that and try really hard to read books that I love this year. You know, at least until the summer (or whenever I start to feel like I'm on a more even emotional keel lol 😅). Instead of getting too caught up in speed-reading exclusively new books in order to up my Goodreads number (fun/therapeutic as that can be sometimes), I'm going to try to pick books that will edify me or encourage me or just plain entertain me. I'm going to find new fairytale retellings and I'm going to read books I've wanted to read for a while and I'm going to savor the heck out of The Chronicles of Narnia and other favorite re-reads. 😉
You have a place, all you depressing historical fictions on my shelves, waiting to be read or reread. And I'm definitely going to get back to you. But for now, after some of the harder things that happened last year, I'mma take it a little easier. Okie doke?
What's been up with y'all's reading lives lately?
I relate to this so much! I get stressed out if I have too many books that I want to read. "So many books, so little time" and I want to just read the books that I will really enjoy . *glares at required reading* Have a great time rereading books!
ReplyDeleteExactly. Unless it's for school, I don't see the point of reading books you don't like. (Unless, I suppose, you need a channel for venting. XD)
DeleteI 100% support this.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have had to come to a place where I've realized I know better than anyone else what books I will enjoy--that many lovely books which my lovely friends enjoy will NEVER be right for me--and that (to my way of thinking, anyway), there's no real point in reading, if not for enjoyment.
I'm still exploring, but I'm exploring according to my own curiosity, not according to my fellow readers' tastes. And I think it's been a good change all around.
Thanks!
DeletePrecisely. There's nothing bad about knowing what you'll like and what you won't like and adjusting your plans accordingly.
YES. That's the thing. Something might still surprise me, but typically we have better success following the promptings of our own interests than the interests of our friends/other readers.
I can relate! I keep my Goodreads to-read shelf around a dozen books, and if I haven't read (or tried to read) them within about a year, they go off the list. It's very stressful (claustrophobic was the perfect word) to have this infinite list of possibilities I'll never have time to get to. I do the same at home. If something's been on my shelf for months without my picking it up, onward it goes to someone who will read it. I am also a big re-reader - practically one book a month is a re-read. I refuse to feel shame about this. Reading is very personal, and what works for you is what works for you. Good for you for knowing what you like and what you want :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, wow! Twelve books!
DeleteExactly. For whatever reason, it's stress-inducing, so we should fix it. XD
Amen! Don't feel shame for re-reading! I THINK this might be the year where I'm not all that bothered anymore by not upping my "new-to-me books read status". We'll see. ;) Thanks! <3 You too.
I think I have the opposite problem, I'm SO picky, that when I hear of a book I add it to my list (not Goodreads or only temporarily until I can place it on my other list), but it's not really a TBR but more a possibility list (I don't follow rules, musts, etc. very well). I'm constantly feeling that "this is it" I've read everything I will ever love. I always am drawn to books that I love or that are emotionally easy as some form of escapism or therapy, and I will not read if I cannot have that. So, I'm trying to read outside of my interests and moods in and amongst my mood reads. At least, that is the theory.
ReplyDeleteGotcha. Okay but honestly, I've been feeling a bit of the same? In terms of believing I've read everything I'm going to like? Because when I started to process all this and get rid of books, whether physically or virtually, I started worrying a bit because I reduced it all by so much. But hopefully we'll both still find books that will surprise us in a good way.
DeleteThat's a good idea. We need both escapism and stretching, sometimes.
I think my TBR list is more Hope I at Least Like It list.
DeleteYep. XD
DeleteThis is a great post and perspective. I have a massive Goodreads TBR list (and a pretty long unofficial one as well). Years go by and I realize I *still* haven't re-read that book I wanted to re-read 2 years ago! I love your approach, especially for these winter months that can feel kinda depressing. This year I kind of locked myself into a predefined reading list - which is actually going well - but I might break away from it at some point, for the reasons you mention.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Ooh, what kind of reading list?
DeleteI picked 40-ish books that I thought would be "good for me" this year. :D Lots are them are books I already own, cause I gotta make a dent in those!
DeleteSounds neat! Yeah, I've been trying to get into more of a mindset of attacking the books that I already own before heading to the library or ordering new ones. XD I'm trying (tentatively) to participate in the Unread Shelf Project to help with that. What kinds of books do you like to read?
DeleteOnce in a while, I go a bit mad and purge a whole lot of books and movies. And feel very good about myself. And then hate myself and gradually buy copies of about half the ones I've gotten rid of because it turns out I miss them.
ReplyDeleteAren't you happy you're not me?
On the other hand, I think of my TBR lists as reminders that certain books exist and looked interesting, in case I'm just wandering around wondering what to read next.
OKAY BUT I KIND OF HAVE THAT PROBLEM TOO. *facepalm* I'm getting SLIGHTLY better at differentiating between the stories that can actually go and which ones I'm likely to get a random craving for 3 years and 5 months down the road. But it's still a struggle. :-P
DeleteThat's a good way of thinking of TBRs. For some reason, my mind isn't working like that. XD
For movies, I now have a sort of "waiting zone" of one shelf under our TV where I put DVDs I *think* I want to get rid of, but maybe not. Movies get to stay there an unspecified amount of time until I rediscover them and go, "Yeah, I don't love these." This helps a little.
DeleteThat's a really good idea. I do tend to find that I should hang onto movies longer, because I truly never know when the urge to watch each specific one will strike.
DeleteGirl, totally been there, too. I purged my goodreads shelves awhile back and was like "WHY DID I EVEN SHELF THESE BOOKS I KNOW I WOULDN'T LIKE THEM??" It's like a self-imposed peer-pressure. We want to love everything our friends love, especially when we're like 13-17. xD Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear what books make you happy this year!
I know, right?? I feel like when we were discovering the blogosphere around those ages, we were SO excited because we felt like we'd finally found people who understood us in a way that those in our "real" lives didn't, and we just got a little out of control with the whole "wanting to fit in" thing. XD At least, that's what happened to me, I think.
DeleteAww, thanks!
Ohhh.... yep. Yep, yep, yep. Agree. 100%.
ReplyDeleteI have literally thought the same the past month!! (Clearly we're all on the same page here, haha! xD) I've found a LOT of golden nuggets from friends' recommendations, but there have also been a few that I've kept out of 'obligation' that I really didn't enjoy... because it just wasn't my thing, and that was fine. But it's really quite silly to feel as though we HAVE to take every recommendation that comes our way AND like it at least a little bit.
I feel like the older you get, the more you realize how little time you have and how many ways you can spend it, and you realize it's kind of important to read books that you ACTUALLY WANT TO READ, rather than just ticking another title of your TBR list.
I went through a bunch of mine and took them out, but I also add a lot, too. And I've found SO many good books lately, which is great, but I wouldn't have had time to read them if I hadn't said no to some of the other ones.
I've decided to stop getting overwhelmed at my TBR list and just write up a mini list of books that I actually REALLY want to read THIS year, and be super intentional about which ones I pick. And it was really so freeing and made it all so stressful and overwhelming (which is so silly)!! But it's so true.
Anyways, all that to say, heartily agree. Oh, and I also Deeply Appreciate the pictures. <3
*it made it all so much *less* stressful and overwhelming
DeleteHaha! Great minds. ;)
Delete"But it's really quite silly to feel as though we HAVE to take every recommendation that comes our way AND like it at least a little bit." << Exactly! We feel so much guilt when we read something that a friend loves and we do not. Gotta nip that in the bud. XD
That's a great idea. I'm trying to go along those same lines this year, too. Only books that I WANT to read. Not books that I'd thought I would read this year (if I no longer want to), and not books that I don't want to read but feel obligated to because of a challenge or a gift or something. :-P Have you written up your list yet? If so, what does it look like?
Lol, thanks! I'm glad you love Gilmore Girls too. :D
Yes, I have written it up! It's quite small so that it's attainable, and I have a few re-reads in there as well because I've missed them. Here is what I've got so far:
Delete-Little Women (it's been too long) & Good Wives by L.M. Alcott
-Little Men by L.M. Alcott
-The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie (gotta have at least one in here)
-Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (this WILL be the year!)
-Love Does by Bob Goff (a book that's long been on my TBR shelf)
-Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist
-Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
-The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
-Slave of the Huns by Geza Gardonyi
-The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
-The 5 Love Languages for Singles by Gary Chapman
-Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
-Heartless by Marissa Meyer
-A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Shwab
-Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist
-Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
-The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
They're quite random books, but they were carefully chosen from my TBR read list. Most of them are books I've been wanting to read for AGES but have never gotten around to. I've asked my library to buy in a lot of books which they've been surprisingly very willing about, so now I have access to lots. ;D I'll probably read some more books in addition to this if the library keeps up with all my recommended purchases, haha (so "To Hell With the Hustle" by Jefferson Bethke, "Live" by Sadie Robertson and "Rhythms of Renewal" by Rebekah Lyons will also be most likely added to this list!).
They're surprisingly half and half with non-fiction/fiction, which I think is a nice balance. I also have a few random thrown in there that were recommended to me just to mix things up, because I like to keep things interesting. ;)
Would love to see your list, if you have or will make one! :D
Ooh, neat! Thanks for sharing your lsit!
DeleteI think you'll really like Bread and Wine. :) And I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on Go Set a Watchman and The Hunger Games.
Okie dokie! I'll give you what I'm thinking right now, though obviously it could change. ;)
New Reads:
~ Kristin Lavransdatter: The Cross (Sigrid Undset)
~ Challenger Deep (Neal Shusterman)
~ Some Kind of Happiness (Claire Legrand)
~ Into the Bright Unknown (Rae Carson)
~ Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
~ Catching Moondrops (Jennifer Erin Valent)
~ Veiled Rose (Anne Elisabeth Stengl)
~ Isle of Blood and Stone (Makiia Lucier)
~ A Fair Account of the Traitors Snow White and Rose Red (S.E. Page)
Rereads:
~ The Books of Pellinor (Alison Croggon) [almost done with this one! I'm about to start the last installment.]
~ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Last Battle, & Prince Caspian (C.S. Lewis) [I've read some of the others recently :-P]
~ The Book of the Dun Cow and The Book of Sorrows (Walter Wangerin, Jr.)
~ The Princess Bride (William Goldman)
~ The Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien)
~ The Hunting of the Last Dragon (Sherryl Jordan)
~ Ivanhoe (Walter Scott)
I'm also TRYING to read through my collection of Christian fiction (*praying hands emoji*). XD
Oh, and I want to finish the Inkworld trilogy by reading Inkdeath. ;-P
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